Mass Drone Attack on St. Petersburg: Fires in Four Districts

Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast came under a massive drone attack overnight into Sunday, October 18. Reports following the attack mention fires, damaged buildings and cars, and widespread power outages.

Around 20,000 people in Leningrad Oblast were reportedly left without electricity. The region’s governor, Alexander Drozdenko, said that 135 drones had been shot down. Reports also mention damage to residential buildings and cars.

The overnight attack also affected air travel: restrictions were imposed at Pulkovo Airport, and passengers were directed to shelters. Residents were also warned that mobile internet might be disrupted.

According to preliminary information, an oil terminal caught fire in Saint Petersburg following the attack. Fires were also reported in the city’s Nevsky, Krasnoselsky, Krasnogvardeysky and Moskovsky districts.

Ukrainian Telegram channels are circulating claims that several facilities may have been hit at once:

• an oil depot;
• an oil-loading terminal;
• a warehouse belonging to Ozon;
• a VKontakte data center;
• an electrical substation.

Russian opposition channels have also reported that one of the drones allegedly struck a cable-stayed bridge in Saint Petersburg.

On the night of October 17 and the morning of the same day, Russian forces attacked energy facilities in ten regions of Ukraine.

We previously reported:

• 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones: Russia openly disregards Trump’s “ceasefire”
• “Shaheds” hit a cargo terminal, warehouses and a service station: Mykolaiv Oblast under massive attacks again
• Russian drone strike on Mykolaiv claims a man’s life
• Three settlements left without power after strikes on Mykolaiv Oblast
• 30 UAVs shot down and an oil terminal ablaze: overnight attack on Saint Petersburg ahead of the SPIEF